


Refuge

by Ljparis, rainydayadvocate



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Mustafar, Tatooine (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 21:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16795069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ljparis/pseuds/Ljparis, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainydayadvocate/pseuds/rainydayadvocate
Summary: On Mustafar, Padmé takes matters into her own hands. Obi-Wan is there for her when the dust settles.





	Refuge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nichestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nichestars/gifts).



Padmé didn’t understand the rage in her heart. She’d never felt a need to kill, or even a need to hurt. In all her years fighting against corruption and injustice, she simply wanted everyone to believe in a better galaxy, not to see anyone maimed or destroyed. Not until today.

She watched Obi-Wan leave Anakin down the lava flow. The pain in his eyes told her he couldn’t finish the job. After all, it was more than likely that the lava and his third-degree burns would cost him his life anyway. But Padmé needed to be sure. The man that had captured her heart was gone, had been slipping through her fingers for months, torn away by differing political opinions and lives full of necessary lies. She couldn’t let this new Anakin Skywalker live.

When Obi-Wan reached her position, she reached out for Anakin’s lightsaber. His gaze met hers, but he didn’t question her as he held it out. She moved slowly down the slope to the wailing remains of her husband, charred and truly only half of his former self. Some may interpret her decision as a desire to put him out of his misery, but they would be wrong. In that moment, Padmé did not care about his misery. She wanted—needed—him dead. As long as he was alive, she wouldn’t have a life free from fear.

And so she rammed her husband’s lightsaber through his heart, held it there until all movement and wailing ceased, and walked back up the slope to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan couldn't speak, his mouth dry, his heart tight somewhere in his chest, his throat on fire. He tried to call out to Padme but he was frozen. He felt in the core of his being that this was right, this was where the Force was leading her in this moment, to finish what he was incapable (or unwilling) to do.

He held a shaking hand out to her. "Padmé." Her name came out in a rasp. "Is he -?"

“Yes,” she answered, looking up at him as she passed the lightsaber back into his hand. “We should go. I imagine he was sent here with a mission, and we shouldn’t be found here.” Although she didn’t want to say it, the heat of Mustafar combined with Anakin’s attempt to choke her were making her feel rather sick.

He sensed that Padmé wasn't well, and he wasn't surprised. He reached out for her. "We can leave now," he said, looking at her as though he was trying to see into her mind, even though he wasn't doing that at all.

She nodded and found herself leaning into him. With the fight over and the deed done, the weight of the last few days fell on her. Her husband had killed so many Jedi. He had betrayed them. He attacked her, assuming she had betrayed him, when she had not—at least, not yet. That, and her physical weakness, made it easy to lean into Obi-Wan, and slide an arm around his back. 

It was more than fine for her to put all of her weight on him. He could support her - he _would_ support her - as long as she needed him to. 

Once he got them both back to the ship, and he had deposited her into a seat, he touched her shoulders. "Where do you want me to take you?" he asked. "Naboo? Somewhere else?"

“I don’t know.” She touched a hand to her stomach, the baby restless and distracting. “Naboo is probably the first place Palpatine would come looking for me. He must know about my relationship with Anakin, and I doubt I’m someone he still wants to have a senatorial voice.” She felt, strongly, knowing the full extent of Palpatine’s plans now, that he would never let her live. 

She placed a hand over Obi-Wan’s. “And Naboo probably isn’t safe for you, either.”

He looked from her hand on his back up to her face. "I'm not certain anywhere is safe for me right now," he admitted, though there was a tingling in the back of his mind telling him about one place, one place he didn't think he really wanted to go but - "Tatooine," he said. "Any chance they'd look for us there?"

“Tatooine?” She repeated, a pained laugh coming from her lips. It was Anakin’s homeworld, but he was dead, and the desert wasn’t particularly easy to search. That, and the criminal underworld, was a large part of why it had never become officially affiliated with the Republic. “No. I think we’d be safe there. Hot and miserable. And safe.”

His face, pained and pale, said more than he could manage out loud. He wasn't eager to go back there, but they both knew it was their best option. "Lay down," he told her, "try and sleep. There's water and food. I'll get us to Tatooine." On impulse, Obi-Wan leaned forward to pressed his lips to her forehead, comfortingly - he hoped.

Padmé smiled at him and nodded, finding it easier to relax than she would have otherwise thought possible. But Obi-Wan’s presence was comforting, and she did actually feel safe. She rested back in the bunk, her hand rubbing against her arm. “Would you make it as cold as possible in here, Obi-Wan? I still need to cool down.”

He turned to look at her, nodded a little. "Are you all right? Is the baby all right?" Not like that was something that was ever previously discussed but now … it would have to be. Obi-Wan switched over the cooling system, reclaimed air filtering through the vents a moment later.

“I think so,” she said, rubbing a hand over her stomach. “Can you feel the baby, and tell me anything I can’t feel?” She smiled up at him. She imagined it was possible, though for some reason she’d never thought to have Anakin do the same.

He stepped back over to her, hesitating for a moment before he settled a hand on her round stomach, reaching out through the Force to make sure the baby was fine. It surprised him to discover that he sensed not one baby but two, and he snapped his face up to look at her. "The baby - they're - fine. Padmé, there are two."

Padmé stared at him, unsure if she’d heard him correctly. But as the new information processed, she knew he was right. That’s why she was so big, that’s why her impressions of the baby were sometimes totally different, like she was carrying two completely different personalities. But all she could think about was the fact that Anakin had never noticed. “Twins,” Padmé said quietly. “Oh, Obi-Wan.”

To put it bluntly, he was shocked she didn't know. That _Anakin_ hadn't known. But he said nothing. Instead, he looked at her and took a deep breath. "Rest, Padmé, please. I'll wake you when we arrive at Tatooine." His gaze lingered on her stomach as he pulled his hand away and made his way to the cockpit.

\--

Obi-Wan's memories of Tatooine weren't fresh to his mind, but they came back as the planet came into view. Qui-Gon, Anakin as a young boy, the pod racing - how long ago all of that was, how many years have passed. He closed his eyes to push them away, set in a steady course for them on the far side of the planet (away from any memories of Anakin), and then went to wake up Padmé.

Padmé, already stirred from dropping out of hyperspace, was sitting up and feeling a lot better. She smiled at Obi-Wan and stood up, wrapping one of her simple robes over her shoulders. “Where are we heading? A relaxing resort retreat, I’m sure.” She smiled as she stood up.

He half-snorted. "If something like that existed on this planet, perhaps more would be flocking to it." Obi-Wan looked at her. "Mos Eisley, one of the medium-sized space ports. From there, I'm hoping we can find somewhere to stay until we figure out what to do next."

Padmé nodded and stood up, but then she hesitated. Strange as it was, she actually knew a little bit more about Tatooine than Obi-Wan did. She cleared her throat. “Anakin’s step-family lives near Mos Eisley. They’re practical strangers to him, but they’re good people. They live just past Anchorhead.”

Obi-Wan looked at her, considering for a moment. "Is that where you want to go?" he asked. "To Anakin's family?"

“Closeby, perhaps? His step-brother is a nice man, and last time I saw him, he had a steady girlfriend who was also wonderful.” She shrugged a little. “I haven’t seen them since we were in hiding, but they were nice.”

It was dangerous, Obi-Wan thought, but he didn't voice that concern. Instead, he nodded. "It will be helpful to have someone familiar nearby," he admitted, because that was true. And he doubted that the Emperor would think to look for them near Anakin's family. At least, he hoped he wouldn't. 

He looked at her, concerned. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head, but found herself leaning into him. “I’m fine, Obi-Wan. The baby—babies—feel fine.” Her hand lingered on his arm. The hairs beneath her fingertips prickled, and it sent a wave of tingles across her body, too. Her hand slid away when she reached his knuckles. With a long breath, she moved from the lounge into the cockpit, leaning over the nav computer and adjusting their coordinates to circle the area near the Lars homestead.

Obi-Wan watched her, reached out into the Force to calm himself. Her touch had been unexpected. When she turned to look at him, he looked away, perhaps too quickly and obviously. "If you need anything, I'm here," he reassured her.

“I know,” she said quietly, taking a seat in the copilot’s seat. Threepio and Artoo were standing in the back, actually staying quiet for once.

As they approached the Lars Homestead, its telltale dome and field of moisture vaporators popping up on their scanners, she carefully guided the ship into Beggar’s Canyon, setting them down in the shade. The twins jostled as she set the ship down, almost as if they were telling her this was the right spot. “This canyon has caves and shade, probably the best we’re going to get outside of a city.” She smiled back at him fondly—Padmé wanted, needed, to feel like this was the right thing. They had made a hasty decision to disappear into the desert on an Outer Rim world, without consulting anyone. With the ship set down, she could feel the weight of the day pushing on her, and she knew only Obi-Wan could offer her any assurance.

He wasn't sure that he could offer her any assurance. He wasn't sure that this was the right thing, though he also didn't know of any better alternative. Obi-Wan could certainly think of several _worse_ alternatives. So in the absence of something better, this would have to do. 

He turned to look at her. "What do you want to do? Do you want to go talk to them now? Do you want to find somewhere for us to stay?"

“I’m not ready to do all of the explaining involved in seeing them now.” It has been far too long of a day and Padmé knew she wasn’t dealing with it emotionally yet, not really. “I think we find somewhere to stay.”

Obi-Wan agreed. "Very well. Why don't you stay here and I'll take the droids and see about some shelter for us." He stood up and began to leave the cockpit, but stopped, hesitating. He turned back to Padmé and set his hands on her shoulders, his fingertips brushing the back of her neck. He bent down to kiss her forehead. "Everything will be all right."

Padmé nodded, and believed him. But she also knew it wasn’t all right yet. When he leaned in to kiss her forehead, she gripped her arms and stood, pulling him into a hug. His closeness, his warmth, his genuine caring made her feel everything would be all right.


End file.
